[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz, and Fridays are awesome.
From the deepest depths to the soaring heights,
today's show takes us from sea to sky.
And of course, we're thankful to have you watching.
A new partnership has been announced
between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
It's called AUKUS, a combination of those three
countries' names.
And it mostly involves defense technology.
AUKUS will help Australia build nuclear-powered submarines.
It'll reportedly deploy US military planes to Australia.
It'll help Australia develop military technology
concerning artificial intelligence and cyber warfare.
US President Joe Biden says the three countries have teamed up
because they believe it's important to ensure
long-term peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,
but China has criticized the new partnership.
A Chinese spokesman says it undermines peace
and stability in the region.
That's according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.
And another Chinese official told the Reuters news agency
that countries should, quote, "shake
off their Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice."
Britain's Defense Secretary says the partnership
is not about sending a message to China.
But many analysts say it is, that by increasing
their military cooperation, Australia, the UK, and the US
are trying to limit China's power.
The communist country has been rapidly building up
its military in recent years.
It's been constructing artificial islands in the South
China Sea and claiming the waters surrounding
these islands are its own.
The US says China has been putting
economic pressure on Australia.
So the three nations involved in Indo-Pacific
are hoping their partnership serves
as a deterrent or discouragement to China's growing power.
A big part of that, Australia's underwater capabilities
in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
ANGUS WATSON: Australia, the United
States, and the United Kingdom have long been close allies.
What this new trilateral partnership known as AUKUS
will do is elevate Australia's military
to be much closer to the capabilities
that the US and the UK has.
One very significant way in which that will happen
is that the US and the UK will provide Australia
with incredibly sensitive and closely guarded
information, knowledge of how to build nuclear submarines.
Australia is expected to build as many as eight
nuclear submarines now with the help of the US and the UK,
becoming only the seventh country in the world
to possess such power.
Now, those weapons of war have the capacity
to change the neighborhood of the Indo-Pacific region,
to change the security question there.
Because these submarines are able to stay at sea for longer,
to dive deeper, to move faster, increased
powers to evade detection.
And of course, they can carry greater weapons payloads.
However, President Biden and Prime Ministers Johnson
and Morrison were at pains to say
that that weapons payload will not include nuclear weapons.
Here's what Scott Morrison had to say about that on Thursday.
SCOTT MORRISON: First, again, this is about propulsion.
This is not about acquiring nuclear weapons.
Australia has no interest in that, no plans for it,
no policy for it, no contemplation of it.
It's not on our agenda.
ANGUS WATSON: Now, this is not a short-term arrangement
that Australia has entered into with the US and the UK.
It will take at least 18 months for technicians
from the US and UK to discuss with Australia
how to move forward with this nuclear-propelled submarine
plan.
And it could be until the 2040s that these nuclear submarines
join the Australian Navy in service in the Indo-Pacific
region, this region which the United States and Australia
in particular are saying grows more dangerous by the day
as China continues to assert itself.
Angus Watson, CNN Sydney.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia, a duck, a rooster, and a sheep
made history as the first travelers on what?
Is it a subway, space capsule, biplane, or hot air balloon?
[music playing]
In 1783, these animals took and survived the first flight
in a hot air balloon.
Continuing our civilians in space theme from this week,
four people are currently orbiting
the Earth in a SpaceX rocket.
And none of them is a professional astronaut.
This isn't the first time civilians have gone into orbit.
It is the first time they've done that
without a seasoned astronaut on board.
Does this mean this kind of opportunity
will soon be available to you and me?
Probably not.
One of the travelers, a 38-year-old billionaire,
personally paid for this trip.
And it likely cost him more than $200 million.
Along for the ride are a St. Jude Children's Hospital
physician's assistant, an employee
of the Lockheed Martin aerospace company,
and a community college teacher.
They blasted off together on Wednesday
and were scheduled to come back down to Earth
on Saturday though the weather could affect that.
They'll sleep in their launch seats,
skip showers, and likely share a very
unique bond for years to come.
Rachel Crane caught up with the civilian space travelers
before their historic flight.
RACHEL CRANE: --feel pressure to make this successful
and pave the way for civilian--
future civilian astronauts?
JARED ISAACMAN: I wouldn't say pressure because pressure
would mean like I'm--
I'm nervous about the outcome here.
I think that responsibility is really the word, right,
and that this is a big responsibility.
And we have to execute really well and get this
right so that the door can stay open for all the other missions
to follow.
RACHEL CRANE: Hayley, what did your doctor say to you
when you told them that you were going
to embark on this journey?
Were they like, you're crazy?
HAYLEY ARCENEAUX: Not at all.
So I texted my orthopedic surgeon
right before my announcement.
And I just said I had some really big news to share.
And we both work at St. Jude together.
And so I went and met up with him.
And I said, you know, in a few days,
you can brag that you put the first artificial joint
in space.
And he just kept saying how proud he was.
He kept hugging me.
And he's here to watch the launch
tomorrow with his family.
RACHEL CRANE: The media has deemed you guys ordinary people
doing something extraordinary, but that's why so many people
feel connected to this mission.
Do you think, though, that that description is accurate?
CHRIS SEMBROSKI: I kind of feel like it does.
I mean, you could have put a group of people
together from all over the country,
and you would still have a set of unique stories
behind each person.
So I think when you think of the word ordinary,
you're not necessarily thinking of bland, boring people
because everyone has an extraordinary story.
We are just a lucky few that have
the extraordinary opportunity to be together
and to share this-- this incredible journey.
SIAN PROCTOR: For me, being the oldest and the most seasoned
here, you know, I think it's about not
giving up in your dreams, having resilience
and grit and determination.
And so I know I have a lot of friends and colleagues
who are in their 50s and 60s.
And you know, sometimes you feel like the best
parts of your life have passed you by,
but that's not the case.
There's so much life still worth living in your golden ages.
And I like to think that this is an example of that.
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Among the skyscrapers of New York City,
there are many breathtaking views.
This one is more three-dimensional.
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is one of the highest
observatories in the city.
It's got a lot of glass.
And it's not just used in the balconies, the outdoor space,
the elevators.
This building features an art exhibit
that has mirrors on the floor, the ceiling, and three sides.
And they have so many reflections
that people say you can't tell what's real.
Others may scrape by by simply scraping the sky,
but those who "Vander-built" this one gave you the views
of a fly with compound eyes that visualize the summit from every
angle, the newfangled and dangled metals
that bemuse and "be-spangle."
It's a sight for sore eyes except for light and height
fearers that reflects view in vantage points using
glass, smoke, and mirrors.
Woo.
Now that we are through that, we want
to give a shout out to North Fayette Valley High School,
our viewers watching from West Union, Iowa.
My name is Carl Azuz.
I host CNN.
Hope you have a great weekend.
[music playing]